Reviews

Insofar as this was made in 1953 I wouldnt expect the libido issue to be approached too blatantly; but heckie-darn thats the one thing I remember most. A new crush every 3 weeks, annoying erections 20 times a day, and such a focus on that thing.."down there." Same with my friends too. But they never even mention it tangentially.

Not a big enough deal made about pimples, either. For some (but not me) it was a huge issue that lasted sometimes for years.

The illustration of the male anatomy was way more stylized then the one for the female stuff which was drawn more accurately just as it is seen in other films of this genre. Honestly, everybody knows that boys' units dont look like a garden hose spigot.

The narrator mispronounces many of the anatomic terms and the term "menarche," too.

Bland film. ho-hum topic; but it has some nice scenes of the early 50's. C+

Reviewer:kamuione -
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August 31, 2006 Subject:
It ain't all glandular, but plenty is

It ain't all glandular, but plenty is

Accidentally double entered.

Reviewer:nullportal -
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September 17, 2004 Subject:
It ain't all glandular, but plenty is

Accidentally double entered.

Reviewer:nullportal -
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September 14, 2004 Subject:
It ain't all glandular, but plenty is

The science of the film is well selected and presented, if perhaps using a bit too much precise terminology that would be hard for many to absorb in one viewing. (In that era any public discussion of this topic would have to have a very thorough "scientific" air to it to be permissible.)

A fundamental problem of explaining adolescent behavioral/emotional problems as glandularly based, as this film mostly does, is that if you try to tell this to an adolescent they are smart enough to pick up on the hazard to them in this: all their controversial but legitimate sentiments and thoughts can be dismissed as merely glandular imbalance if that is accepted as a definitive answer. Any adolescent is going to have some resistence to this "glandular" account then, and it is very necessary to present the facts of life during the glandular-hell-era (as adolescence genuinely is) with some combination of acknowledgement of their intellectual growth and independence too, as foundation for legitimate sentiments and ideas at odds with those of others. It isn't ALL glandular (though a lot is).

It's message about the need for patience while adolescents develop is still vital today, though the risks adolescents face from their own insufficiently thought through decisions or lack of life experience upon which to form good judgments is so dramatically increased compared to 1953 that a message of patience and empathy alone would be insufficient. The massive cultural disintegration that has occured since 1953, and particularly in the U.S., makes the mere patience and empathy approach to adolescents unreasonably hazardous for them. Patience and empathy are vital, but the world is comparatively too fatal and punishing in other ways these days to leave it at that. Time was adults all knew that teenage decisions are capable of being remembered all too well in later life, when they can't be undone, and felt authorized to actually do something about this in the form of imposing necessary restraints; adults still know this but no longer feel that cultural norms permit them to exert as much influence in this area as is truly beneficial for most adolescents.

Let's follow janey and Jimmy as they go through puberty ok? We follow them using standard animation explaining this, with some strange font choices thrown in. The film in my opinion doesnt really get interesting until talking about the emotional problems the kids go through, which make them all crabby and over-emotional. A pretty good film, that yes, even I learned from (I got to find out what a Menarche was!)

Reviewer:B00B -
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January 3, 2003 Subject:
Everything you wanted to know about Janey and Johnny

For a 1953 educational film this is pretty good. It avoids being too coy, although true to the period it is very much a lecture by an Authority Figure. For that reason and others it is pretty dry stuff 50 years on. But it covers the essential topics clearly and succintly, and spends some time discussing the non-physical aspects of puberty (emotional, social, and psychological) as well.

The film was obviously in good condition when it was recorded, although the B/W contrast is *very* high. This results in some odd effects when writing is presented in white-and-grey: SEX CHARACTERISTICS becomes S X H R C E I T C which is hard to parse for the first second or two.